TOKYO — Next April, Japanese teens will troop back to school to start an academic year like no other. For the first time, tuition will be free at all high schools, both private and public, regardless of household income, as Japan’s minority government places a bet of nearly $4 billion a year on making child-rearing more affordable — and boosting its own popularity.
The education system reform was adopted by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to win the backing of an opposition party for a revised budget plan earlier this year. It comes as the nation’s high schools face the impact of Japan’s declining population: The number of children in element and junior high schools hit an all-time low last May, according to government data, while high school rolls have fallen by 700,000, nearly 20%, over the past 20 years.
